Diving

Great local reefs

What we say:

An abundance of dive sites around the Amed and Tulamben area make it a popular base for recreational diving. There are plenty of operators to choose from and, weather permitting, trips should be departing daily.

While sites like Jemeluk Bay, the Japanese shipwreck, Gili Selang, Seraya, Kubu Reef and Batu Kelebit are all worth getting wet for, the real attraction is the Liberty Wreck (at Tulamben) and most dive shops will kick off their presentation with there.

If you're main point of interest is the wreck at Tulamben, you may want to consider basing yourself there rather than Amed, just to cut down on transport time, but many stay in Amed as it is a far nicer area just to hang out in than Tulamben.

For those without PADI certification, diving is possible in the Jemeluk bay where you'll see much the same as you would if you were snorkelling. The second of the introductory dives can be conducted elsewhere.

For those already certified, two dives will set you back between US$60 and $90 (depending on the site) and includes transport to and from your hotel, food and drink and experienced diving instructors. There is also a range of courses on offer kicking off at around US$275 for a PADI Open Water course

You'll find at least one dive operator in just about every one of Amed's bays, with the largest number scattered across Amed, Jemeluk and Bunutan. While we've not personally dived with any shop out of Amed, we spent quite a while chatting to the staff at Amed Scuba Bali (on the road between Bunutan and Jemeluk) and they came across as particularly solid, safety conscious operators.

About the author: Stuart McDonald
Stuart McDonald co-founded Travelfish.org with Samantha Brown in 2004. He has lived in Thailand, Cambodia and Indonesia, where he worked as an under-paid, under-skilled language teacher, an embassy staffer, a newspaper web-site developer, freelancing and various other stuff. His favourite read is The Art of Travel by Alain de Botton.